Tag Archives: books

Writing

Speaking of Young Adult novels…

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I read a series of young adult novels not too long ago that I absolutely LOVED! I read the series pretty much two times in a row, the first book three times (the last time I mapped out the first book’s plot on note cards) and I had to force myself not to keep reading them! I felt like I was going through withdrawal when I stopped. lol.

The books are (drum roll please!)…Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer! These books inspired and absorbed me so much that not only did I go back to my first novel (which will probably be considered young adult), but I had an idea for a young adult forbidden love story with fantasy elements as well. I’m really excited about it, but I can’t talk about it yet as I don’t even have the world/magic background worked out, let alone characters or story. Stephenie Meyer has said she had the idea in a dream and so the characters and world and heart of the story came to her all at one time. I’m not so lucky this time, but I think if I can figure some things out, it will be a good world with plenty of potential angst to explore. 🙂

I also read another book (this one dealing with fairies rather than vampires) that has also gotten some buzz that I’ve seen on the Internet (i.e. I have heard of the book–that’s why I read Twilight, I kept seeing posts about it on agent’s or author’s blogs). It’s called Wicked Lovely. I didn’t like it quite as much as the Twilight series but it was still good. 🙂 And isn’t that cover beautiful?

My Marla book (the young adultish) novel that I’m working on doesn’t have a love story–at least not yet; the second book in the series should start developing some of that–and isn’t atmospheric like these and it also doesn’t take place in the real world, but I’m still enjoying working on it, although I have come to a pause for the past week or two. My real job got in the way. lol. Anyway, I had some ideas with the plot that should really tighten it up. I’m forever saying that. I wish I could come up with a plot and STICK to it! Hopefully, I’ll gain that ability as I grow as a writer.

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I miss my Veronica Mars!

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So I THOUGHT I was recording Veronica Mars all summer so I could re-watch the third season this fall, but apparently, the DVR was set only to save 3 episodes or something, so no luck. This leads me to the first item on my Christmas List–normally non-existent except for vague things like clothes is good, or gift cards for books :-)–the first three seasons of Veronica Mars on DVD.

The picture is for the Season One and Season Two set, but here is the link for the set including all three season, which doesn’t have an image yet. Veronica Mars: The Complete First Three Seasons.

So now I’ve watched the first three or so episodes of the third season and I only have two more (and the Season Three 2-episode finale) saved. I have no idea how it got screwed up, but my episodes will surely end in the middle of a Veronica/Logan breakup, not to mention before the rape case is solved! But I guess since the whole series ends with similar unanswered questions… ah well. And I have seen them all before.

I’ve been boycotting the CW even though Kristen Bell narrates Gossip Girl and that Reaper show seems kind of interesting. I may not have been able to resist listening to Kristen’s perfect snarky voice, but the prospect of seeing her on Heroes (hopefully soon!) has given me the necessary willpower. 🙂

And as to the question of whether Veronica Mars of Buffy the Vampire Slayer would make the best Gallagher Girl? Veronica Mars! No question. (But I may be biased considering that I never watched Buffy.) Go to this blog if you want to know what I’m talking about. Ally Carter has written a totally cool young adult series about a secret spy school for girls. Or just buy the first book: I’d Tell You I Love You, but Then I’d Have to Kill You.

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Distractions galore!

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I haven’t touched my writing recently (not since Labor Day weekend) and while that’s disappointing to me, I have still been thinking about SotP (Song of the Prophecy) and I think I’m working things out in my subconscious. I hope I am; otherwise this incredibly long break I’ve had has no excuse!

Anyway, I’ve found some new things to be distracted by. Some of them I think are legitimate, while others aren’t and I should attempt some discipline.

  1. House hunting
    Yes, I’m looking to buy a house or a townhouse. I was promoted to a full time position at work, which barely allows me to afford something in the city. The problem is finding something in a suitable neighborhood. Living by myself will be an interesting experience, considering the fact that I don’t like to do dishes or laundry or clean really in any way. lol. BUT I do like to cook sometimes, so that is good. I also like to look at a number of distracting things on line such as: house listings, furniture, paint colors, bedding, Ikea kitchens, decorating advice etc. etc.
  2. New Television Season
    What is more addictive than Grey’s Anatomy? Anyway that’s my favorite show I think. Other returning shows that I love include: Desperate Housewives, Veronica Mars and House. Other returning shows that I like include: ER, Bones, L&O: SVU and NCIS. My favorite new show is Studio 60 (please watch so it doesn’t get cancelled, it’s awesome!) I also love Heros. They come on back to back. How cool is that? I’ve also been watching: Friday Night Lights, The Nine, Brothers and Sisters and Standoff. Can you way WAY TOO MUCH TV??? I can! I watch WAY TOO MUCH TV!!! And it’s even easier now that the big networks have their shows online for free (although Fox does not–boo! and neither does CW, which isn’t surprising).
  3. booksfree.com
    I have always been addicted to reading. I haven’t updated my books read list for a while, but trust me it’s now a lot longer. This year I’ve spent so much money on books I don’t even WANT to know how much it is. So joined this service that is similar to Netflicks, except that it is for books. You pay a monthly fee and you can check out up to four books at a time, but you can receive and send them back as many times as you want per month. They ship in groups of two so there’s a little bit of lag time if you’re not careful, but so far it’s worked well for me. I think I read six or seven books in October. Anyway, except for the fact that, despite the list that you keep, you can’t really control what book you get when (don’t put the 2nd book in a series on your list until they’ve mailed you the 1st), I’ve been enjoying it. I think I’ll read books I might not have read otherwise with this service.

So there you have it. My top three distractions. But not to worry; I had a new idea for a character (I can’t believe I actually started with a character) just the other day. My brain isn’t creatively dead, it’s just resting or something. I think the drive to work on SotP will come back soon enough.

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Do you see all the books I’ve read?

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Am I a bookaholic or what? Listed to the side are the books that I’ve purchased since the beginning of the year. This does not include any books that I have re-read. For example, I read the first two Naomi Novik books twice, I re-read Patricia Bray’s Devlin series, and I’m pretty sure I’ve re-read a couple of other things in there as well.

My intention when adding this list to my blog was to review the books, but I immediately got behind and I didn’t want to leave anyone out. Unfortunately, reviewing them all is not going to happen. I wouldn’t be able to do justice to the books I read several months ago and I don’t have time to re-read them, even though I’m sure I would enjoy it.

But here are some highlights:

Favorite New Authors:

  • Naomi Novik

I LOVE this world. Like I said, I’ve re-read the first two books already and would have the third as well, but I’m not sure exactly where it is right now. I’ve been trying to get my brother to read them, but he’s addicted to video games rather than books so spends most of his free time (and not free time) doing that. But he will read and love them, I promise. The combination of dragons, historical period, and action-adventure is wonderful as well as the author’s style, which is in keeping with books written in the period. I CAN’T WAIT until the next book is out. That sneak preview at the end is almost cruel & unusual, since we have to wait so long after these three came out in quick succession. 🙂

  • Sarah Monette

I don’t remember why I picked up Melusine. I think it was reviewed well on locus or something and compared to Jaqueline Carey in terms of orignality and detail. Maybe I’m attracted to “bad boys” or something since both the main characters could be considered “bad boys” in different ways, but I love them both, even if one of them really is a prick a lot of the time. He just doesn’t realize he’s doing it and then he’s sorry. Anyway, I read Melusine in paperback last month then immediately wanted to read The Virtu. Of course the books stores didn’t have it. Nor did the library. So i bought and electronic copy, just so I could read it IMMEDIATELY. Even though it’s a total rip-off b/c it costs the same as a hardcover (I think, anyway, it was more expensive than a paperback which is much more reasonable). Hello! Part of the reason hardcovers are so expensive is the paper they’re printed on and the printing costs. An electronic copy is much cheaper to make. I assure you. So the price should be less. Sigh. Yet I bought it anyway. Wonderful, wonderful books. Again, looking forward to the next one.

This took longer than I expected. I’ll try to add more highlights about my reading later in the week. Now, I really should be writing, not letting this blog distract me!

Writing

Inspiration from the mental stew

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So, I haven’t started looking at my manuscript yet. Yes, I know I said I would, but I haven’t. Still, it isn’t a bad thing for me to let it breathe for awhile. It’s been stewing in my mind and inspiration has struck!

While working on my synopsis, I realized that events need to be tightened. At one point Amaris, who is a cantella trying to save people from the Destroyer before Mavelle gets there, is found and led to a hidden city. This woman is a servant of the force that eventually helps Mavelle. Then later Amaris runs into Mavelle and that’s how Mavelle gets to the city. Well, I thought, that’s just too convenient. Tavin is already having these dreams earlier in the book, I should use them to lead Mavelle where she needs to go. I can cut the scenes where Amaris goes ahead. She can still meet Mavelle and Tavin at the same point, but I’ll have to rework some of what she’s doing before then. Anyway, once I figure it all out, it should be a tighter story, but there will have to be some reworking.

The other thing I thought of was the awkwardness of some of the revelations that come to Mavelle. I think if Wilhenn, the expert in everything the Order knows about the cataclysm and what life was like before, was given enough clues, he could help put things together. For example, the keeper of the spiral, might not only be guarding the spiral but other things, such as a book, or fragments, things in a language that they have forgotten how to read, but Wilhenn might be able to. Anyway, it’s a thought.

Probably the most difficult thing about my story is explaining all the stuff that the characters don’t know, but need to find out. I guess I need to thing about exactly what they DO need to know and what they don’t.

On a side note: I am reading Sebastian by Anne Bishop because she is one of Jennifer Jackson’s clients. I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I am disappointed to see that there is a force in the story’s world called “The Eater of the World” who is escaping from a prison. This is unfortunately similar to my Destroyer who is escaping from his prison and has an army of Eaten. sigh. There is even the concept of something being divided. In this case The Light and The Dark. In my case The Mother and the Destroyer. Well, I’ll just have to hope all the OTHER stuff in my book is original enough in concept or combination.

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Best Books of 2005

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First, let me just say that when I came up with my list of books that I read in 2005 and that were published in 2005, the list was not very long. With school, I haven’t had the chance to read as much as I’d like. But that will surely change now that I don’t have homework to worry about. Therefore, I have limited myself to five books. Obviously these are taken from books that I actually read so no doubt I missed some wonderful books.

1. Chainfire by Terry Goodkind
I have been an admirer of the Sword of Truth series since I first read Wizard’s First Rule year ago. That said, some of the books are better than others and it’s a long and complicated series. For the first books Goodkind says that he didn’t know what was going to happen in the next book as the wrote. I believe this more for some of the earlier books because there is evidence of this in the plot, but nevertheless there is an overarching storyline in the form of a villain. Anyway, I was disappointed with the last installment Naked Empire because of all the preaching that took place in it. Because the later books especially do seem to grander scheme, this one didn’t seem to stand on its own as much and I felt lacked forward momentum. Chainfire is completely different (the cover design changes to go along with this). Because of the conflict in this book the focus of the story changes. I thought it was a brilliant problem to throw at Richard and Khalan. I couldn’t put it down and there is a definite question of whether things will work out, which is sometimes missing from the other books because Richard and Khalan are both such strong, resourceful characters. If you haven’t read Terry Goodkind before, start with the beginning. If you stopped reading after a few books, you may be able to pick the story up again with this one, but like I said, it is a complicated series. But this one is worth reading them all for.

2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
You’ve all heard about this book by now. Rowling is a master at plot twists and this one has them, but the book feels less complete than the others of the series. I’ve only read it once (shame on me, I know!) but the book was rather traumatic to finish because of the ending and the wait and the inevitable let down once I finished reading it. I feel the same after most “events” in my life from holidays to being in a theater production. I do plan on reading it again soon. I thought in comparison to other books Harry learned a lot but did less. But I guess the last couple of chapters make up for that. And of course I was thrilled with the romantic developments. Overall, Rowling as done it again and added another fantastic installment to her series.

3. The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
Anything by this author is wonderful. I highly recommend reading everything she’s ever written. The only reason this book isn’t higher on the list is because I thought the climax could have been paced better.

4. Mystic and Rider by Sharon Shinn
Shinn is a subtle writer. It is a nice change from a lot of the other writers out there. The main character keeps her secrets for most of the book from the reader and the other characters. Religious prejudice, political intrigue and romance woven throughout. I thought the love story could have been more center stage, but I guess I’m not subtle! lol. Anyway, I highly recommend.

5. Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb
A new world for the popular author of The tawny Man series. This first is a coming-of-age story set against a world where there is conflict between two societies the “civilized” and the “primitive.” The story is told in first person POV and follows a young man through is childhood on the frontier, his encounters with the Plainspeople and their magic, and his experiences at the school where he trains to become a soldier. I’m looking forward to seeing where the series goes.

I also recommend:
A Brother’s Price by Wen Spencer
At All Costs by David Weber
The Prodigal Troll by Charles Coleman Finlay

Biggest disappointment of the year:
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
I still think the concept is intriguing, but the voice and style distanced me from the main character too much. I wasn’t able to read very far before putting it down. From the hype that the book got I was expecting something much more exciting. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish the book at some point, then maybe my opinion will change.

That’s all for now!

Writing

Reflections on the semester

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The semester is finally over. I handed in my last few assignments yesterday and sometime soon the fact that I’m actually finished and graduating will sink in. Until then, I can at least reflect on this past semester and what I’ve learned.

1. Reading classic or influential writers and trying to emmulate their writing can help you learn a lot. We read Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time and Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. I think I got some good material from the exercises I did for class, some of which really forced me to sit down and think about description, which, as one of my weaknesses, was very good for me.

2. When I am distracted by things that are going on (or a person who isn’t going on) in my personal life, it is very difficult for me to write anything not required for class.

3. I can be anal-retentive when in comes to completeing homework assignments, especially ones involving improving my own work. This is a good quality when it comes to revision.

4. A query letter and a synopsis are much harder to write than it would seem.

5. Short stories still aren’t my favorite thing to read or write, but I do respect ones written well.

6. Getting published is very hard to do and requires not only good writing, but most of the time luck as well. This doesn’t keep me from believing that it will happen to me someday.

These are just some highlights. I actually learned a lot more. I’m sad that I won’t have the chance to keep learning, but I can’t stay in school forever; it’s too expensive.

Now I’ll have a lot more free time to do things I haven’t had time to do, like theater and reading. I can write more and start the huge project which is revision. I need to finish my Web site. I guess once the holidays are over, I’ll still have plenty to do, I just won’t be graded on it.